Kenosha's Jeffery & Rambler Automobiles

The Thomas B. Jeffery Company existed as an automobile maker from 1902 to 1916 and in that short span created a corporate foundation that would lead to successor firms Nash Motors, Nash-Kelvinator, American Motors, and Jeep. Thomas Jeffery named his automobile the Rambler, after the popular bicycles he manufactured prior to his car venture. The Rambler was a car of outstanding quality and reliability. From its first showing in Chicago in 1902, the Rambler stood out as an unusual value for the money. That reputation carried over when Tom Jeffery's son and successor Charles decided to change the car's name to Jeffery in honor of his late father. In 1916, Charles Nash, then president of General Motors, resigned his position and purchased the Thomas B. Jeffery firm, renaming it the Nash Motors Company. Before long, an all-new Nash car was introduced, and the Jeffery brand faded away. Nash went on to become one of the largest of the American independent automakers.

In this book, readers will see many celebrated people in Rambler and Jeffery vehicles—Mark Twain, Bing Crosby, Pres. William Howard Taft, Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing, and more. Author Patrick Foster is the owner of most of the photographs and images, which reside in the world-famous Patrick R. Foster Historical Collection, a large, working archive dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of historical information about American Motors, its predecessor companies, and subsidiary and related firms.